Family, police mourn trooper killed in crash

The casket is carried in to St. Gabriel The Archangel Roman Catholic Church for the funeral of fallen Trooper Jeremy VanNostrand Monday Dec. 3, 2018 in Schenectady, N.Y. (Skip Dickstein/Times Union)

The casket is carried in to St. Gabriel The Archangel Roman Catholic Church for the funeral of fallen Trooper Jeremy VanNostrand Monday Dec. 3, 2018 in Schenectady, N.Y. (Skip Dickstein/Times Union)

Photo: SKIP DICKSTEIN, Albany Times Union

Photo: SKIP DICKSTEIN, Albany Times Union

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The casket is carried in to St. Gabriel The Archangel Roman Catholic Church for the funeral of fallen Trooper Jeremy VanNostrand Monday Dec. 3, 2018 in Schenectady, N.Y. (Skip Dickstein/Times Union)

The casket is carried in to St. Gabriel The Archangel Roman Catholic Church for the funeral of fallen Trooper Jeremy VanNostrand Monday Dec. 3, 2018 in Schenectady, N.Y. (Skip Dickstein/Times Union)

Photo: SKIP DICKSTEIN, Albany Times Union

Family, police mourn trooper killed in crash

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ROTTERDAM - Trooper Jeremy VanNostrand was remembered Monday at his funeral as a hard-working, dependable trooper who valued honesty and loyalty.

“Jeremy loved this job and he was good at it," State Police Superintendent George P. Beach II said. “It was evident at a young age Jeremy wanted to be in uniform and he did everything he could to reach his goal to become a New York State Trooper.”

Hundreds of state troopers and other law enforcement officers turned out Tuesday to join VanNostrand's family in saying goodbye at St. Gabriel’s Roman Catholic Church on Hamburg Street. He was killed last week in a traffic accident.

The church was not large enough to fit all the law enforcement officers who came from across the state. More than 500 officers stood outside the church during the service.

Beach said VanNostrand was posthumously promoted to sergeant. Before his death, he was fourth in line for promotion to sergeant.

"I know this promotion is right, well-deserved, earned by Jeremy himself and a way to honor him and his commitment to public service," Beach said.

A large American flag hung from the ladder of a fire truck over Hamburg Street leading up to the church as a procession of State Police vehicles and officers on motorcycles escorted the hearse carrying VanNostrand's casket to the church.

A pipe band played as troopers lined up in columns of five in the parking lot outside of the church to salute the procession.

"What you see in front of you today is a tremendous tribute to his life and his service as a public servant," Beach said before the funeral.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo attended the service but did not make any public remarks.

VanNostrand, 36, was killed Nov. 27 after a box truck rear-ended his vehicle while he was waiting to turn into the parking lot of the barracks where he worked in Fultonville, Montgomery County. The impact pushed VanNostrand's Nissan Altima into the path of another truck.

State Police are investigating the crash — the latest in an already devastating year in which four troopers have lost their lives in the line of duty. Neither of the other drivers has been charged in the crash.

Major Robert Patnaude, Troop G commander, said Monday that collision reconstruction was ongoing.

“We’re obtaining search warrants for the vehicles to find out what happened, whether it was driver inattention or a mechanical issue,” he said. “But we will determine what happened and if tickets are warranted they’ll be issued.”

VanNostrand is survived by his wife and a 6-year-old daughter. He was trooper for six years, and lived in Rotterdam. Before joining the State Police, he worked as a correction officer for the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision.